Summer Sun

We took our little one on a few trips this summer. Before the baby arrived we both said we really want to keep getting away when we can – we just prayed the baby would like it too! Both of us were buzzing about the continental heatwave considering the predictably dismal English summer. Normally, I struggle to avoid getting burnt (not because I’m ginger, just because I’m awful at sun cream application) and we had to be responsible for our lad this time too…it turns out sunny holidays are a bit different with a bairn.

Sun/Shade

Gone are the days of falling asleep in the sun and waking up a nice golden (red in my case) colour – not so easy now. For the first time in my life, the priority was shade for the baby. Beach? Find some shade. Pool? Find some shade. Food? A place with shade. It’s not as easy as it sounds either! Life was made significantly more simple by our Diono Quantum. The sun cover made moving the boy around way easier and in times of shade-drought, it was so useful. The vents and space made it airy and cool for him and we whacked a fan in there too. Big pimpin’ – I was a bit jealous.

Reading

I literally love reading. I’m a proper geek. Anything dystopian and I’m sold. Normally I smoke through a book a day on holiday. I mean, I sacrifice clothes for books when it comes to packing. This summer, I’ve read 124 pages. Babies don’t entertain themselves of course and having a kiddy is so much fun – what with swimming and pooing I didn’t find enough time to read like I normally do. A strange change in holidaying activity for me, but not a bad one! Normally I lay in the sun and read, this year I sat in the shade and made fart noises whilst playing peek-a-boo. Cheers.

Worry

I lost count of how many times my wife asked me, “Is that normal?” – little, tiny spot one the baby’s tummy, “Is that normal?” – massive wee, “Is that normal?” Coming out of your comfort zone where you’re familiar with behaviours and your baby’s habits is a bit weird. It’s not 30 degrees at home so we had no idea what to expect. We just learnt as we went. Of course Dr Google was called upon from time to time and of course it was of no use. We figured, if the baby is happy that’s all that matters! And he was. Result.

Although we came home much less tanned and way less refreshed than usual, taking the baby on holiday was brilliant. There’s something special about having a little one with you when you do stuff.